


In Safe Hands

by spoilmesweetie



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Feels, idk - Freeform, this started off as a chapter for something else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 10:56:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14187399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoilmesweetie/pseuds/spoilmesweetie
Summary: After the Council's decision to remove Ada as Headmistress, Hecate is not coping.Pippa feels Hecate's distress and arrives to help.(aka - this started off as a chapter for something else, grew a life of its down, didn't fit, and then just wouldn't go away)





	In Safe Hands

Ada looked up in alarm at the sudden scraping of furniture and accompanying crash, her eyes landing on a certain Pippa Pentangle, currently swaying where she stood, braced on the arm of one of her armchairs.

"Ada...sorry...I just...hang on."

Jumping up from her chair Ada hurried over to the blonde, who was now gripping the arm of the chair with both hands, eyes closed as she stood bent at the waist, taking a few deep breaths.  Finally, she opened her eyes, able to straighten herself up with only a slight sway to her stance.

"Apologies, Miss Cackle.  Well met."

"Well met, dear.  Now do you think you're recovered enough to tell me why you seem to have crash landed in my office?"

Pippa frowned, still a little dizzy.  "It seems I misjudged my transference spot.  I was aiming for Hecate.  Her rooms anyway."

"Hecate?" Repeated Ada.

Closing her eyes against a wave of nausea that bubbled up as she nodded, Pippa felt herself swaying and was grateful for the strong hands that clasped her upper arms. 

"I think it might be best if you sat down for a minute, dear," said the older witch, guiding the blonde to sit in the comfortable chair rather than brace herself against it.  "Now, what in the name of the Great Wizard has you transferring here in such a rush?  Please at least tell me you did it in smaller jumps and haven't come here directly from Pentangles?"

Pippa offered a weak smile as a glass of water was conjured and pressed into her hand.  "I made a couple of jumps.  Not as many as I should have, though, especially when I've never been particularly skilled in transference.  I just...I haven't felt Hecate's magic like this since we were children."

Ada regarded the younger woman with a look of awe.  "You _felt_ Hecate all the way from Pentangle's?"

Moving to place her glass of water on the table, Pippa nodded.  "I was able to when we were younger, and across the years, and more so recently, if we've ever been in the vicinity of each other I've recognised her magic."  She pressed a hand to her temple, feeling her impending headache at having pushed herself and her magic more than she had done in quite some time.  "Tonight felt different though.  It was the first time I'd felt her across that distance.  Felt her so angry."

The older witch sighed.  "She might very well be angry.  The Witch's Council took the decision today that I am to be removed as Headmistress of Cackle's Academy."

"What?" Breathed Pippa, in shock.  "But after all you've done for the girls!  And they can't surely hold you responsible for the actions of your sister?"  Suddenly, all that she had felt from Hecate made sense.  There had been a whole maelstrom of emotions; anger, guilt, fear...  "Ada, I don't know what to say.  What I can say?  If there is anything I can do to help, however, you only have to ask."

Ada bowed her head.  "That's very sweet of you to say, dear, but I'm afraid the Council was very clear that their decision is final."

Pippa snorted.  "The Great Wizard and the Council think very highly of themselves and their decisions.  I take great pride in proving them wrong."  She gave Ada a sad smile.  "They're all pleased as punch now Pentangles is doing well, but I remember how much red tape they put up trying to stop me from ever even opening the doors when I started.  So I mean it, Ada.  If I can help I will.  For now, however, I think the first step in saving Cackle's might be rescuing its deputy." 

She didn't want to make the older witch feel like she was brushing the issue of her removal from Cackle's under the rug, but she could practically feel Hecate's magic like a rash across her skin and knew better than most what could happen if her friend let her control slip.  Or worse, wasn't in a fit emotional state to exert her control.  She pushed herself to her feet, closing her eyes against the wave of dizziness that followed.

"I think I'd better come with you, dear.  Can't have you casting in this state," said Ada, holding out a hand to the blonde.

Pippa nodded, gratefully taking Ada's hand and allowing her to transfer them to Hecate.  She wasn't surprised when she opened her eyes to find herself in woodland.  It had been Hecate's safe space when they were in school, and it seemed to have remained as such now. 

Ada on the other hand seemed rather startled to find herself out with the castle walls, only belatedly casting a spell to keep the rain from them. 

"Hecate?" She called, the noise of the rain and rumble of thunder rendering her shouts useless. 

A sharp crack of lighting lit up the sky, illuminating a trembling figure in black only a few feet away.  Pippa didn't hesitate before going to her.  "Hecate?  Hecate, are you all right?"  She moved so she was stood in front of her, purposely bringing herself into the other woman's eyeline.  "Hiccup?"

"You need to go," said Hecate, her voice hoarse. 

"I'm not going anywhere!  I could feel you all the way from Pentangles and I won't leave you, not like this," argued Pippa.

Ada, following Pippa's lead, cautiously moved into her deputy's eyeline, feeling the raw, uncontrolled power practically rolling off of her.  "Hecate, why don't we move this back inside?  Go back to the castle?  We can talk things over with a nice up of tea."  She jumped as a further fork of lightning flared across the sky, this one hitting the tree directly behind her. 

Hecate shook her head.  "No.  You need to go before you get hurt.  I...just...I can't..."  Tears continued to stream down her pale cheeks. 

Pippa stepped forward and ignoring everything else around them, took Hecate's hands in her own, feeling her magic crackle beneath her skin, eager and electric.  "I know.  It's too much sometimes.  But it's okay to let go.  I'm here."  She squeezed the hands in her own.  "You won't hurt me.  I know you won't."  She followed Hecate's worried gaze to where it rested on Ada.  "And you won't hurt Ada either."  She loosened one of her hands to allow her to cast a quick protection spell over the other woman, before bringing her hand to cup Hecate's cheek and bring her gaze back to meet her own.  "It's okay."

"It's not!" Cried Hecate, shaking her head, curls flying wildly.  "It's not.  Everything is just...wrong."

Pippa smiled softly.  "Nothing we can't put right if we all work together." 

"You don't understand!"

"Then tell me, Hiccup.  Tell me everything..."  She kept her voice as soft as she could, given the noise surrounding them.  She ignored the rain soaking her to the skin, and the wind whipping her hair, focusing solely on the woman in front of her.  She felt Hecate's hand bunching in the fabric of her dress where it covered her hip, desperately seeking something to hold onto and ground her. 

She watched as something inside Hecate broke, and when she opened her mouth, it was her anger and fear and guilt that poured out.  How she was furious at the Council, at Agatha, at herself.  How she feared that in Ada leaving that she would not only lose the woman who had become her rock, her friend and the closest thing to a mother figure she had had since the death of her own mother in her early school years but surely also her place at Cackle's.  And worse, how she felt so deeply guilty for not having done more.  For having let it all happen.  For fearing for her own position when Ada was losing everything.   

She was aware that as Hecate spoke, her magic, so closely linked to her emotions, lashed out with her words.  Branches snapped, thunder rumbled, and the very Earth became scorched around them.  Still, Pippa never let her eyes leave Hecate's.  Kept the hand cupping her cheek in place, gently stroking her thumb with her cheek, the other hand in the fierce grip of Hecate's own, her restless magic travelling through her where their skin touched. 

Hours or minutes could have passed.  Pippa was neither counting nor cared.  Slowly, however, Hecate began to exhaust herself and her excess magic.  As her words dried up and all that were left were raw, body wracking sobs, the blonde moved to wrap her arms around Hecate's trembling body, guiding her head to rest on her shoulder. 

Almost without her bidding, she felt her own magic reach out, warming the air around them, covering Hecate like a blanket.  It sought to sooth and caress and tamp down the fire that raged within her.  She looked over the dark-haired witch's shoulder at Ada, who was looking at them in equal parts awe and disbelief.  With a wave of her hand a few mumbled words, Pippa dropped the protection spell from around the older witch, knowing that Hecate was about as dangerous as a new-born kitten at this stage.

She could remember the first time she had found Hecate in the woods.  They had been in second year, Pippa finally having wheedled her way past Hecate's defences and learned that her silences did not always mean rejection.  It had been a particularly hard day of classes, with Miss Broomhead having come down on them all even harder than usual, and Hecate in particular.  That night, after detention, she had gone to find the darker haired girl, only to find her room empty.  Following what then was only the simplest of locator spells, she had found her in a clearing in the woods, the air around her thick with untamed magic. 

Nervous, but with a willingness to help, Pippa had approached her.  Then, much as they had now, she had encouraged Hecate to open up to her.  To stop trying to reign in and control whatever feelings she was struggling to process and to just let them out.  Of course, then, she had been quite unprepared for Hecate's magic letting go too and had trembled as the very air around them vibrated, the ground shaking, twigs and branches snapping.  That Hecate Hardbroom was a powerful witch had never been in doubt from the first day she had begun to shows signs of her magical heritage, but for such a young witch to have so much power made it difficult to control.  And for Hecate, who's magic appeared to be linked so much more closely to her emotions that most, almost impossible to control when she struggled to process her own emotions.  Her attempts and stamping out everything she felt could only work for so long.  Sometimes, it was all simply too much, and to stop herself damaging the school or her fellow students, she would simply remove herself.  Alone and terrified, she had tried and failed to handle things. 

Then Pippa had come.  Terrified and trembling she had arrived, but she hadn't run.  She had stayed with Hecate, letting her rage or admit she was terrified.  Never judging, only listening, reaching out with her body and her magic as she sought to settle and soothe her friend. 

"How did you know I needed you?"

Pippa smiled against the wet fabric of Hecate's collar.  "Magic."  Pulling back, her smile fell a little at seeing her friend's face, eyes red and puffy, having shed too many tears, and looking as defeated as she'd ever seen her.  She rubbed her hands up and down the darker haired witch's arms, applying a gentle warming and drying spell.  "Now, what do you think we take Miss Cackle up on her offer to move things back to the castle and settle in with a nice cup of tea?"

Hecate turned sheepishly towards Ada.  "I'm sorry you had to witness that."

Ada smiled gently.  "There is absolutely nothing to apologise for."  She stepped forward to place a gentle hand on her deputy's arm.  "I only wish you'd told me so I could have helped you in some way." 

"You have quite enough on your plate, Ada, without having to deal with my..." She trailed off, gesturing vaguely. 

"Hecate dear, it doesn't matter what I am doing, I shall always have time to help you," she said, her words sincere.  "Now, do you feel steady enough to transfer yourself, or..?"

Hecate managed a small smile.  "I think I can manage.  Your office?"

"Perhaps my chambers may be a little more private for this?  Or your own if you would feel more comfortable?"

"Perhaps mine?  If you don't mind?"

Ada smiled.  "Not at all.  I'll just nip and get some biscuits.  See if I can't scare some dark chocolate gingers up from the kitchens?"  With a final squeeze to Hecate's arm, she transferred out ahead of the pair still clinging to each other, giving them a moment of privacy.

"Are you sure you're all right to transfer us?" Asked Pippa.  "Only I'm still a little shaky after arriving here, and you know it's never been my forte."

Hecate's eyes widened.  "You transferred here?  But you hate transferring, never mind over such a distance."

"Hecate, did you hear what Ada just said?  That she would always have time for you.  The same applies to me.  I will always be here for you, no matter what is happening, or the distance between us.  If you need me, or want me, you only have to ask."

"I'm not good at asking," mumbled Hecate. 

Pippa smiled.  "I know."  She began to run her fingers through wild curls, applying a gentle detangling spell her mother had taught her as a child, and which had become invaluable to her in the years since.  "I use to be better at reading you, so you never had to.  I want to learn again, if you'll let me?"

Hecate leant in, wrapping her arms around the blonde's slim waist and burying her face in her neck.  She had been trying to let the other woman in since the day of the Spelling Bee, but had found it impossible to navigate the years and distance between then, not to mention her own insecurities, and had often cancelled meetings between them or rescheduled mirror calls at the last minute.  Tonight, however, she was simply too wrung out to deny that the presence and closeness of the other woman brought her an unrivalled sense of comfort.  "I want to let you," she whispered against her neck.  "But I know I can be...difficult."  She both heard and felt the chuckle that bubbled up from her friend.

"The best things are seldom easy, Hiccup."  Pippa pulled back to look at the darker haired woman.  "But if you remember, I can be quite determined when I want to be."

It was Hecate's turn to smile.  "Oh, I remember."  Her smiled and voice softened as she continued to speak.  "I remember everything.  You're impossible to forget, Pipsqueak."

Pippa's breath caught in her throat at the expression on Hecate's face, so soft and open.  She wanted to kiss her.  Had done for decades.   But she managed to hold herself back, just.  Hecate was exhausted and emotionally spent.  The last thing she needed was Pippa forcing herself on her.  "You're rather unforgettable yourself."  She closed her eyes as Hecate leant in to press a soft kiss to her cheek, shivering at the sensation of having the taller witch's lips against her skin. 

Mistaking the shiver for one of cold, Hecate pulled back.  "I should get us back to the castle."

Opening her eyes, Pippa nodded.  "Are you sure you're okay?  I wouldn't mind walking if you felt you weren't?"

Hecate smiled.  "I'm sure.  And I promise to make it a rather smoother arrival this time around."

"I always you knew you did that on purpose!" Chuckled Pippa darkly, with a shake of her head, pleased that Hecate had calmed enough and felt at ease enough to make the joke.

The taller woman's response was merely to smirk.  "I thought it might prompt you into learning it quicker and improving your technique..."

"Oh, and I suppose you just forgot to stop dropping me those extra few inches to the floor?"

Ignoring the question and the accompanying raised eyebrow, Hecate transferred them both, reappearing smoothly in the safety of her chambers.  It was only now, back in the warmth of her rooms that she realised how cold she was, shivering in their loose embrace. 

"Why don't you go and find something comfortable to change into?  I'm sure Ada will be along in a moment," said Pippa, stepping back. 

"You're soaked through too.  I'll find you something."

Pippa was about to protest.  To say that she'd simply cast a drying spell and be done with it, but in truth, she had been in her dress all day, and it hadn’t exactly been the most comfortable thing she owned when she had put it on that morning.  That, and she was also curious as to what Hecate might produce for her to wear.  Watching her friend paw through her wardrobe, and almost disappear inside it, Pippa couldn't help but grin at the black leggings and soft loose knit sweater in a deep emerald that were extracted from the back of it.  They were held out to her without a word, and she accepted them gratefully, leaving Hecate to find something to wear herself as she nipped off to the bathroom to change.

She took her time, peeling off and vanishing her wet things before drying her skin and slipping into the clothes Hecate had given her.  She nuzzled into the cowl neck of the sweater, glancing at herself in the mirror and realising her hair, which had been loose when she arrived, had been whipped into quite the abstract modern art piece by the wind and rain.  Applying a few quick spells to clean and tame it, she smiled briefly back at her reflection before making to leave the bathroom.

Opening the door, she found Hecate perched on the arm of one of the armchairs by the fire, clothes similar to those she herself wore clutched tightly in one hand, tears rolling down her cheeks. 

"Hecate?"  She approached slowly when she got no response.  "Hiccup?"  She stopped, careful to be within touching distance if that was what Hecate wanted, but far enough away that she wasn't crowing her.

"I'm sorry for being such a burden," she finally mumbled. 

"A burden?  Hecate Hardbroom you look at me right now!"  Pippa hadn't quite meant to use the tone she reserved for naughty students, but it seemed to work as dark eyes flew up to meet her own.  "You are _not_ a burden.  Not to me.  I am here because I _want_ to be here.  I want you to feel comfortable with me being here with you.  I want you to feel like you don't have to hide anything from me.  I know it won't be easy, but I won't run away, Hiccup.  I promise I won't.  I'll only go if you want me to."

"NO!"  Hecate seemed to surprise herself, even, with the volume of her voice.  "Please don't go," she continued, though barely in a whisper now.  "I don't know how you knew to come, but I...I'm glad you did."

"I don't mean to intrude, but I think I may know how Miss Pentangle knew to come to you," said Ada from where she stood by the doorway.  She hadn't meant to interrupt, and had been going to knock until she had heard Hecate's shout.  "But perhaps it might be discussion best had once you're more comfortable?  Why don't I sort the tea and let you get changed."

Hecate looked to Pippa, who nodded.  "Go.  I'll still be here when you get back.  Promise."

Both women watched the usually proud figure shuffled towards the bathroom, sharing a sad smile. 

"I'm glad you're here," said Ada as she quietly set about fixing tea for the three of them, setting down the dark chocolate gingers she had liberated from their hiding place in the kitchen on the tea tray.  "If you hadn't come tonight I would have presumed she had taken herself away to her rooms and didn't want to be disturbed.  I dread to think what state she would have been in without you."

Pippa shrugged.  "I didn't exactly do much.  I just stood there, really."

"You really don't realise, do you?  Neither of you do."  She settled herself in the armchair by the fire, leaving the small sofa opposite for Pippa, and when she returned, Hecate. 

The blonde frowned as she perched on the edge of the sofa.  "What do you mean?"

Ada paused, unsure of how to begin.  She didn't want to presume more of a history between the pair than actually existed, nor over-estimate where they stood in terms of their current relationship.  "You and Hecate were close as children, I gather?"

Pippa nodded.  "Yes.  Hecate was my best friend."

"I don't suppose, when you were first learning magic, that you dabbled in any sort of friendship spells, or binding spells?"

"Binding spells?" Repeated Pippa.  "We were children, not married!"

Ada shook her head.  "They're not all about marriage.  There are many variations on binding spells.  At their base, they are about love and commitment which is why many witches use them as part of a marriage ceremony, but they're not exclusively used."

The blonde's frown only deepened.  Her further reply, however, was halted on her tongue as the door to the bathroom swung open revealing Hecate.  She wore dark grey yoga pants and a deep purple sweater much like that she had loaned to Pippa.  Her hair remained loose around her shoulders but was now dry and falling in achingly familiar curls.     She approached them quietly, settling into the free space on the sofa, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. 

"How are you feeling?" Asked Ada, standing to pass over a cup and saucer of sweet tea.  She knew Hecate would wrinkle her nose at the sugar she had added, but the older witch was a firm believer that a cup of sweet tea was the start of curing many ails.

"Warmer," replied Hecate as she accepted the cup, the corner of her lips quirking into the hint of a smile as she caught sight of the chocolate ginger already on her saucer.  "More settled, I suppose." 

The three women sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping at their tea.  It was Pippa who finally spoke first.

"Ada was asking if we ever dabbled with binding spells when we were younger.  I don't think we did, did we?"

Hecate was quiet for a few moments as the thought.  "Not that I remember.  The only binding spell I remember even seeing was at an old aunt's wedding."

"No friendship spells?  Nothing like that?"

Hecate sighed.  She wasn't in the mood for riddles.  "Ada, please.  Whatever you are thinking, please just out with it."

The headmistress gave her deputy an understanding smile.  "Very well.  I think that the reason Miss Pentangle here could feel you distress tonight was because, somehow, and I suspect during your childhood years when it probably hasn't been your intention, at least not expressly, you have become bound to each other."

"Impossible," said Hecate.  "We'd have noticed, surely?"

"There have been instances where it has happened, rather unintentionally, where the bond between two individuals is strong enough."  She sat forward in her chair.  "Pippa, you said to me earlier you used to be able to feel Hecate's magic.  Can still feel it now?"

"Well, yes.  But I can feel your magic too.  Feel the hum of the magic in the walls, even," replied Pippa.

"Ah, but can you feel it without sensing for it?"  Ada countered.  "I'm currently casting a warming spell on the teapot.  If I drop that..."

"The tea will get cold," grumbled Hecate.

Ignoring the interruption, Ada levelled her gaze at Pippa.  "Can you feel it now?"

The blonde was still for a long moment.  "No," she finally admitted.

Ada smiled.  "But you can still feel Hecate's.  Felt her tonight without reaching out, or sensing for her?"

Pippa slowly nodded.  "Yes..."  She turned to Hecate.  "Are you casting anything right now?"

The darker haired witch shook her head.  "Nothing."  She looked to Ada.  "If your next question is can I sense Pippa's magic, the answer is yes.  I always thought it was just because it was so recognisable after spending so much time around each other's magic as we grew up."

Ada nodded.  "Did you consciously reach out for Pippa tonight?"

Hecate lowered her gaze to her knees, shaking her head.  "No," she whispered.  "At the time...At the time I was thinking how pathetic it was, that after all these years there were still times I couldn't control my own magic.  How I was glad I was so far from the castle so I wasn't a harm to the school or the girls, and so you didn't have to see how useless I am."

"Hecate!  Oh my dear, you are not useless.  Far from it.  I couldn't run this place without you!" Said Ada, tears gathering in her eyes as she realised just how low an estimation of herself her deputy held.  "And you are not pathetic.  You're a wonderful witch and a dear friend.  We all have our moments of weakness and we are all entitled to them.  We are allowed to feel overwhelmed and to need to reach out.  We are allowed to let people take care of us."

It took a while, but Hecate finally looked up, meeting her eyes.  "If anyone deserves to be taken care of right now it's you, after what the Council did to you."

"Emotions don't work like that, Hecate.  You need what you need when you need it, and that's that," said Ada simply.  "And on that note, we are both here to help you right now."

"Please let us," added Pippa, reaching out a hand, which after only a brief hesitation, was taken by Hecate's own pale, slightly trembling hand. 

Ada smiled softly as she watched the interaction.  She had known Hecate for years, and while she had opened up to her in that time, trusted her, she knew there was much of her she didn’t know.  Would likely never know.  And knew better than to push and ask.  She had tried to be there for her, as much as Hecate would allow, and was ever grateful for the younger woman’s support to her.  She was glad, therefore, that Hecate seemed to feel that she could reach out to Pippa, consciously as well as unconsciously.

“Have either of you ever sought to visualise your magic in recent years?”  Her words brought the gaze of both women to land on her.  “I only ask as it would show you both whether you have indeed bonded your magic somehow.” 

Hecate looked sceptical, but with a sigh and a glance at Pippa removed her hand and settled on the sofa cross legged.  The blonde shifted to mirror the position and Ada watched as the pair close their eyes, their breathing slowing as they fell into the relaxed state required when looking inward at one's own magic.  It was a skill every young witch was taught and could often help when learning control in their early years.  It was a skill rarely used from then on, however.

She could tell the precise moment Hecate found her own magic from the gasp that left her lips.  It came as no great surprise that Hecate would be the first to find her magic, being a witch who often looked inward, while Pippa seemed to be someone who delighted in all that was around her. 

Ada watched as Hecate blinked back into awareness, her eyes wide as she turned to look at Pippa.  The blonde's eyes flew open a few moments later.

"You were right!"  She exclaimed, her jaw falling open.  "Can I try something?"

Hecate and Ada, looking equally bemused merely nodded, watching as Pippa excitedly whispered a short spell, gesturing with her hands.  A few moments later, they and the very walls around them almost seemed to glow. 

Ada glowed a pale silver, the light remaining close to her body.  Pippa and Hecate, however, while surrounded in their own shades of gold and violet, could see strands of colour reaching away from them, happily mingling and settling with the others. 

"You made our magic visible?"

Pippa grinned.  "It's something I sometimes do with the students who are struggling with their control.  It only lasts a few moments.  I find that sometimes making it visible can make it easier for them, rather than trying to imagine some invisible runaway force.  But I had no idea..."

"I suppose that when stretched over distance our magic would be less inclined to mingle so freely?" Asked Hecate, looking to Ada for guidance as the colours around them faded.  It was she, after all, who had recognised the link between them in the first place.

"I would imagine that whatever the distance you would each carry a small part of the other's magic with you, but in such close proximity and from what we're seeing, I might surmise that you could freely interact with and possibly even use each other's magic," replied the older witch.  "I'm guessing from the fact that neither of you seemed to have any idea about this that you don't recall when it might have come about?"

Pippa shook her head.  "I know for me, I don't specifically remember ever having _not_ been able to feel your magic.  It just always seemed to be part of our friendship."  She turned to Hecate.  "I guess I thought it was because we would practice and cast together so often I was just quite in tune with the feel of your magic."

Ada frowned.  "Are you sure there nothing standing out for either of you?  No promise you made that were sealed with magic?  An exchange of magic between you?  Nothing like that?  It could have been something quite innocent and innocuous at the time."

Hecate frowned, a memory resurfacing.  "What about the night we tried to form our own coven?"

"Your own coven?" Repeated Ada, regarding her deputy with a frown.  She specifically recalled Hecate telling her wasn't part of any coven when she had joined the school, and of inviting her to join hers, the rest of her coven welcoming the younger witch gladly. 

Hecate fidgeted under her gaze.  "It wasn't a formal ceremony.  We didn't even know what we were doing really."

Pippa reached across the space between them and took one of Hecate's restless hands in her own.  "There had been talk from the girls in our year of starting our own coven.  It quickly became clear, however, that Hecate was not going to be invited as a member, so I refused to join them.  I didn't want to be of some petty group of witches who thought it was a good idea to exclude people just because they were different or better than them."  She turned to Hecate.  "So the night they were inducted into their coven, we did our own silly little thing in the woods, away from it all."

Ada sat forward in her chair, finding that her estimation of Pippa increasing the more she came to know of her.  "Can you remember exactly what you did?  Not that it makes any difference now.  It would appear the deed is done, and has been for quite some time."

Both witches looked at each other, neither remembering the specifics of the evening in any great detail. 

"I just remember we had that tiny little cauldron bubbling away and making pink smoke.  More for effect, if anything.  We both said a little speech about always being friends and trusting one another or something along those lines.  There was something we repeated together too, but I don't honestly remember what it was.  I was too excited at the time."

Ada smiled.  They might have had no idea what they were doing, but at its heart, whatever little ceremony they had conducted, it bore all the basic ingredients of a binding ceremony.  Somehow, in the woods many moons ago the two women before her had bound themselves and their magic together for life. 

"Whatever we did," breathed Hecate.  "It seems like it was enough."  She found herself somewhat unsettled by the truth of it.  That she and Pippa, young though they were had clearly had enough of a connection, had _loved_ each other enough, to willingly bid themselves to each other.  To think that somehow, across the years, while she herself had never been brave enough to breach the distance between them, her magic had.  To think that in always holding a piece of Pippa in her heart, she had also held a piece of her magic within her very core. 

Pippa chuckled.  "People used to say we used to bicker like an old married couple.  I guess in some ways, we were."  She looked at Hecate in wonder.  "I still can't believe we didn't know.  That it's taken till now to realise."

"It's never felt anything less than normal to either of you because it has almost always been the norm for both of you.  If anything, casting while you were apart would have felt more strange.  At least, to begin with," said Ada.  "At the time, I imagine you both put it down to losing a dear friend when you parted."

Pippa dropped her gaze to where she held Hecate's hand in her own.  "It did always feel like a part of myself was missing."

Sensing it was time to let the pair talk, and that the revelations of the night so far were only the very tip of the iceberg, Ada pushed herself to her feet.  "I'll go and take care of final rounds for the night.  Leave you two to talk."

Hecate looked up at her friend gratefully.  There were things she knew she needed to say.  Things she was terrified to say out loud, and as much as she trusted Ada, they were things she just couldn't say in front of her.  They were things meant for the ears of Pippa Pentangle, and Pippa Pentangle alone.  Things the other woman deserved to hear. 

Ada smiled softly at the two women as she left.  Hecate for her part, looked terrified.  Pippa, on the other hand, more thoughtful.  Hopeful, even.  She hoped come morning, they would have a better understanding of what was between them.  And of what was so painfully obvious to others.

"I never meant to bind our powers that night," said Hecate quietly.  "I had no idea.  Truly."

Pippa turned to her with a gentle smile.  "It was never my intention either.  I just...I wanted something that we were both part of.  That was just ours.  Something those petty, awful girls couldn't intrude on."  She ducked her head, blushing lightly.  "I suppose it does begin to explain why I felt everything so intensely when it came to you."

"I loved you then," breathed Hecate, closing her eyes as she spoke, not willing to see the rejection on Pippa's face.  "I didn't understand it then.  Not properly.  Then, you were just my dearest friend.  The girl I'd do anything for.  It wasn't until later that I understood that the way I loved you...it...it wasn't...I wanted to be more than friends."  She kept her eyes closed, waiting to feel Pippa's hand being pulled from her own and the blonde leaving. 

"Hecate, open your eyes," said Pippa quietly.  "Please.  I want to be able to look at you when I say what I have to say."  She waited patiently, giving a gentle squeeze of encouragement to the hand in her own.  Finally, she was rewarded with dark hazel eyes meeting her own.  "You were going to say that what you felt wasn't right, weren't you?"

Trembling, Hecate nodded. 

"That's not true," said Pippa.  "There was nothing wrong with the way you felt, Hiccup.  Not at all.  But if you think there is, then there must be something wrong with the way I feel too."  She paused, summoning up her courage as she continued.  "I loved you then.  I loved you as a friend, and when I finally understood that what I longed from you was so much more than friendship...I never stopped loving you."  She shifted on the sofa until she could reach out and cup Hecate's pale cheek with her free hand.  "I still love you."

Hecate gasped, tears filling her eyes.  She tried to blink them away furiously.  She surely had no more tears to cry that night.  "You...You truly love _me?"_

 _"_ More than anything," breathed Pippa.  "You heard what Ada said, a binding spell takes love to create.  I loved you then and I love you now."

"Oh, Pippa," whispered Hecate.  "I never dared hope.  Didn't want to be the witch clinging to your cloak."

The blonde let out a bark of laughter in disbelief.  "As if you could _ever_ be the one to drag me down.  Hecate, you were always the better witch.  The only reason I was ever so competitive was to try and be as good as you.  To show you that I wasn't some frivolous, glitter loving, pink clad fool."

"I think we've both been rather foolish," admitted Hecate.  She couldn't keep the smile from creeping onto her lips as she spoke.  "I love you.  And everything you are."

"Even the pink?"

Hecate's smile only grew.  But also grew softer.  Fonder.  "You wouldn't be Pippa Pentangle without it."  She watched as Pippa's gaze fell from her eyes to her lips before quickly flicking back up again, blushing at having been caught. 

"Can I kiss you?"

Hecate didn't answer.  At least not in words.  She leant forward and pressed her lips to soft pink ones in the realisation of a longing that had been as much a part of her as breathing since she was fifteen. 

Somehow, in the minutes that followed, Pippa found herself pulled into Hecate's lap, her arms looping naturally around her neck as she settled comfortably to straddle the woman below her.  Kisses were exchanged, pulling whimpers and gasps from parted lips. 

It was a need for breath, and Pippa's giggles that finally parted them, though only far enough to lean their foreheads together.  "I can't believe I'm kissing Hecate Hardbroom.  Finally."  She was sure she looked like a fool, what with the wide grin on her face, but she couldn't bring herself to care.  Because she was kissing Hecate Hardbroom, and she was kissing her back.  "You know, I almost kissed you before, the day before the broomstick display.  What would you have done it I had?"

"I hate to admit it, Pipsqueak, but almost exactly what I did then, only with a much heavier heart, in knowing I was breaking yours."

"What?"  Pippa sat back properly now, only stopped from moving away altogether by strong hands on her hips.  She frowned, not understanding.

"Pippa, I didn't stand you up for that broomstick display because I wanted to.  I did it because I had to.  The girls in our year...they...they threatened to tell."

"Tell what?" Asked Pippa, frowning in confusion.  "Who?"

Hecate sighed.  "They threatened to tell my father that I was some sort of degenerate.  They threatened to tell Miss Broomhead too."  She dropped her head, fingers toying nervously with the fabric clutched beneath them.  "I knew my father wouldn't take the news well and would no doubt invent some sort of punishment.  And as for Miss Broomhead..."  She shook her head, refusing to let her thoughts go down that particular dark path.  "They said if I left you alone that they wouldn't say anything.  I didn't trust them for a minute, but I thought at least if I put some distance between us that any punishment would come to me, and you would be spared."  She looked up, meeting Pippa's tear-filled eyes.  "I would do anything to keep you safe."

When Pippa kissed her this time, it wasn't soft or cautious.  It was desperate and eager and with the taste of the salt from their tears on their lips.  "Hecate, oh my sweet Hecate.  You should have told me.  I'd have taken whatever they could throw at me to be with you."

Her words only made Hecate cry harder, her head pressed against Pippa's chest, arms tight around her waist.  "I...I wanted to reach out to you, when my father died.  But by then...I thought you hated me."

Pippa ran gentle fingers through Hecate's curls.  "I could never hate you, Hecate.  I was angry, yes, but I never hated you.  I'd have been there in a heartbeat if you'd asked."  She felt the arms around her waist tighten even further.  They were silent for some time, each drawing comfort from the closeness of the other.  Finally, however, Hecate pulled back, allowing Pippa to wipe at the tears that trailed down her cheeks. 

"What does this mean?  For us?"

Smiling warmly, Pippa looped her arms loosely around the other woman's neck.  "I know we still have a lot to talk about, and I know it won't be easy, but I hope that this is something you'd like to explore."  She chuckled at Hecate's eager nod, bringing a blush to her pale cheeks.

"I would like that.  Very much," and then, feeling bold, the darker haired witch added.  "I'd also very much like to kiss you again."

"I'd very much like it if you would.  Any time you please from here on in."  She grinned as Hecate leant up to press their lips firmly together.  She opened her lips to Hecate's questing tongue, moaning as she deepened their kiss.  She wanted to grieve for the years they had lost, but found that she simply couldn't, not when this moment, and the feeling of their magic being so much in harmony once more was almost worth the years of heartbreak and pain.  Right then, with Hecate beneath her, and their future spread out before them, so full of possibilities, she couldn't find it in her to be anything other than ecstatically happy.  "I love you, Hecate."

Hecate smiled.  A full, open, beautiful smile.  She wondered if she'd ever be able to stop.  "I love you too.  So much.  Will you...will you stay tonight?  I...I mean...I'm not...I don't..."

Pippa cupped blushing cheeks in her palms.  "It seems like we were never meant to take things quickly.  How about tonight, I stay, and we just enjoy not being miles apart for a while?"

"That sounds...wonderful," breathed Hecate.  She wasn't so naïve as to think it would all be rainbows and sunshine from here on in, though Pippa would no doubt try her best to make it so.  She knew she was far from perfect, and that tonight was only the beginning of the difficulties they would face, but somehow, knowing they would face it together made the thought less daunting.  The very real feeling of Pippa straddling her lap, her fingers on her skin and the lingering feeling of her lips on her own made it all feel just a little less impossible. 

 

 


End file.
